Unmanned aerial vehicles (“UAVs”) exist in a variety of different configurations, including rotary aircraft, such as single-rotor and multi-rotor helicopters, fixed wing aircraft, and lighter-than-air aircraft (i.e., dirigibles). UAVs may be used for a variety of purposes, including both recreational and professional applications, such as geological surveying and aerial photography (e.g., photographing outdoor sporting events). However, conventional untethered UAVs include onboard batteries with relatively small capacities, which limit the endurance of the UAVs and the practicability of using these UAVs for applications requiring a long-duration flight. For instance, conventional onboard batteries (e.g., lithium polymer (LiPo) batteries) may permit only 15 to 25 minutes of flight depending on the size of the UAV and the conditions under which the UAV is operated.
Tethered UAVs that are powered by a power source in a ground station offer potentially unlimited endurance or at least extended endurance, depending on the type of power source in the ground station. However, many conventional UAVs are programmed to require use of a proprietary onboard battery and are therefore incompatible with ground station-based power sources.
Additionally, equipment (such as cameras or other sensors) onboard conventional untethered UAVs transmit data captured by the equipment to the ground via wireless signals (e.g., transmitted via wireless local area network channels). Transmitting data via wireless signals typically requires the data to be compressed or otherwise degraded in quality. Additionally, conventional UAVs typically lack onboard data storage and/or data processing equipment due to the size and payload restrictions of these UAVs. Accordingly, conventional untethered UAVs may be unsuitable for professional applications or other applications where high-quality data or other information is desired.